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NP students create heat recovery system

SINGAPORE — Instead of changing lifestyles by sleeping without air conditioning in attempt to save on monthly Public Utilities Bills, families would soon be able to still enjoy air-conditioning and save on their bills at the same time.

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SINGAPORE — Instead of changing lifestyles by sleeping without air conditioning in attempt to save on monthly Public Utilities Bills, families would soon be able to still enjoy air-conditioning and save on their bills at the same time.

A heat recovery system that a group of three Ngee Ann Polytechnic Mechanical Engineering students came up with aims to cut utilities bills by recycling wasted heat generated by the air-con compressor to heat water for many purposes such as showers.

The Domestic Waste Heat Recovery System employs a heat exchanger, which is found in vehicles and production plants to cool down engines or process fluid respectively.

The trio used the heat exchanger to absorb wasted heat from the air-con compressor and the heat is then channelled to the water storage tank to heat water for domestic use.

Trials on the prototype have shown that the system provides sufficient energy to heat 110 litres of water up to 40°C if the family turns on the air-con for eight hours continuously — which works out to saving S$20 monthly or S$240 yearly on their electrical bills.

The 110 litres of water is estimated sufficient for a family of four.

21-year-old team member Goh Ray Gin reasoned: “We realised that a lot of Singaporeans switch on their air-con at night. So by coming up with this Heat Recovery System, families can stretch their dollars by enjoy the air-con and save money by recycling wasted heat generated by the air-con processor.”

The Domestic Waste Heat Recovery System could be commercialised by next year.

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